23:08
US reiterates: “Worried that China will supply weapons to Moscow”
“We are concerned that China is considering sending weapons to Russia.” The spokesman for the US State Department, Ned Price, said this in a briefing with the press, however reiterating Washington’s belief that this has not yet happened. “However, Beijing has provided other forms of aid to Moscow in its war against Ukraine and has not been a transparent actor,” he stressed.
23:08
Sánchez: “Sending fighters is not an option on the table”
Sending military fighter jets to Ukraine “is not an option currently on the table” in the discussions between NATO and EU countries that support Kiev: this was stated by the Spanish premier, Pedro Sánchez, in an interview broadcast in the evening from the Telecinco TV channel. “On the other hand, there is that of helping with Leopard tanks, artillery, ammunition, economic resources to help the Ukrainian state itself to pay teachers or health personnel, in reconstruction work and in terms of humanitarian aid”. Last week, Sánchez said after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev that Ukraine’s request to receive troops from other countries had to be “studied”.
23:07
Zelensky: “The situation in Bakhmut is increasingly complicated”
The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky he admitted in his usual evening speech that the situation for Ukrainian troops around Bakhmut in the east of the country is becoming very difficult. “The situation is getting more and more complicated,” he said. “The enemy is systematically destroying everything that can be used to protect our positions,” he added, calling the fighting Ukrainian soldiers “true heroes.” “Thank you to everyone who helps our soldiers and does everything to ensure that our defenders have as many weapons as possible, long range weapons, powerful weapons.”
23:06
Intelligence Kiev, there are no signals about China sending weapons to Moscow
The head of Ukrainian intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, he said in an interview with Voice of America that “I do not share the opinion that China can supply Russia with weapons. For now, I don’t think China will agree to arms transfers to Russia… I don’t see any signs of such things,” Budanov said, as reported by Ukrainian media.
16:03
Moscow: “Two Kiev spies arrested in Crimea”
The FSB security services have arrested two Russian citizens in Sevastopol, in the Crimea, on suspicion of having been recruited by Ukrainian intelligence to locate military facilities. The Tax reports it. “The illegal activities of two Russian citizens who are suspected of cooperating with foreign special services have been foiled,” the FSB said.
According to Russian authorities, two residents of Sevastopol born in 1979 and 1995 initiated contacts with the Ukrainian special services in order to provide data on the location of Russian Defense Ministry facilities in exchange for money. The two are accused of high treason and secret collaboration with a foreign country. Based on the Russian penal code, the first charge carries up to 20 years in prison while the second carries up to eight years in prison.
15:54
Kiev asks South Korea for arms
The Ukrainian ambassador in Seoul, Dmitry Ponomarenko, has urged the South Korean authorities to send weapons to the country to fight against Russian forces. “Ukraine hopes that the South Korean government will find a solution that will finally allow the delivery of weapons to Ukraine”, said the diplomat, insisting on the need to receive aid “without delay” to carry on the counter-offensive. Ponomarenko has therefore called for the adoption of tougher sanctions against Moscow.
15:19
Moscow: “Ammunition depot destroyed near Bakhmut”
Russia says it has shot down five drones launched from Ukraine and destroyed an ammunition depot near the eastern city of Bakhmut. Sky News reports it. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that it also shot down four Himars missiles.
14:34
CIA: “Moscow understood our warning against the use of nuclear weapons”
Russia “understood” the serious US warning against the use of nuclear weapons. This was stated by the director of the CIA, William Burns, reporting, in an interview with Cbs News, his meeting three months ago with the head of Russian intelligence Sergey Naryshkin. “President Biden has asked me to clarify to Naryshkin, and through him to President Putin, the serious consequences if Russia were to choose any type of nuclear weapon – Burns said – I think Naryshkin understood the gravity of the matter and I think even President Putin understood it”.
Apart from that, the meeting with the Russian intelligence chief was described as “daunting” by Burns, who spoke of “a very defiant attitude from Naryshkin”. “A sense of bravado and arrogance, which in some ways reflects Putin’s view of believing that time will play his way, wearing down European allies with political weariness,” he added.
13:03
China: “Infinite war with US weapons in Kiev”
“As the United States intensifies its efforts to send arms to one of the warring parties, resulting in an endless war, false information about China’s arms supply to Russia continues to be spread.” This is what Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, also accusing the United States of “seizing the opportunity to sanction Chinese companies for no reason: this is openly bullying and a double standard”.
12:36
Podolyak: “Liberation of Crimea will be in negotiations”
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said that the Ukrainian authorities “do not care” about Russia’s opinion on Kiev’s plans to liberate Crimea and currently the issue of liberating the occupied peninsula is no longer a separate case in the eventual negotiations: now it is a complete story about the liberation of Ukraine. UNIAN reports it. “Until the middle of the war, Crimea was singled out as a separate topic, now this issue is being discussed in a single package as a territory that needs to be liberated,” Podolyak clarified, according to which it is important for Ukraine’s partners to put correctly the emphasis on the question of the peninsula. The adviser said that now the Ukrainian authorities “do not care” what Russia thinks, but they also care about the fate of the Crimean Tatar people, who have become hostage to Russian military aggression. “Now the heirs of these inhumans are coming and they are simply pushing them out of the Crimea, Kherson region, destroying houses again, repeating the situation that has been going on for 8 years. You can imagine the tragedy that the Crimean Tatar people are going through. It’s just phenomenal,” Podolyak said, “it is imperative to liberate the entire territory. You can’t just allow Russia to repeatedly mock the entire Ukrainian nation,” he said.